Tuesday, December 3, 2013

New Standard Elite is a extreme metal label from Ventura, California founded in 2010 by Daniel Osborn, drummer for the brutal death metal band Inherit Disease. I found the label through a Facebook post and decided to check out their roster, that was Lumpur, Ossification, Secreted Entity, Abhorration and Iniquitous Deeds at the time. Got to be honest though, I did not know any of the bands, but after listening to a couple of songs I ended buying all of their releases!

A year after discovering what would be one of my favorite labels, New Standard Elite had managed to add bands like Scatorgy, Laceration, Gore Infamous, Seminal Embalmment having all of them release albums and EP’s, which of course made my wallet even emptier. But the past months have been especially exciting, as NSE has signed two very well known bands in the brutal death scene. None other than the mighty Gorgasm and Disentomb, both of which are currently working on new material.

Artwork by Mottla-Art

When I knew that I was going to write about New Standard Elite for Metal Bandcamp, I decided to contact Daniel and have a little chat about brutal death metal and the label.

Me: First, when did you found NSE? What made you decide to say “I want to start a label”?
Mr. Osborn: NSE started in 2010 when I realized that Brutal Death Metal had lost its focus, and when the most important things about the music, what really makes it grab my soul, had been absent from a very large portion of albums being released. Most importantly, I feel that the modern/fake production is very crippling to this specific genre, also the obsession with technicality overpowering good riffs, and solid catchy song structure is also causing this scene to become stale. These are my opinions of course.

Me: Do you think that you founding the label was a way to give back to the brutal scene and give opportunity to new bands?
Mr. Osborn: Yes, absolutely. I know there are plenty of lunatics out there, who crave what I crave when it comes to music. I am focusing VERY specifically, and exclusively on that. I love releasing new bands material, as a fan, I am always looking for new music, it is all I think about. NSE is gaining a good reputation for brutal releases, and great customer service. I plan to keep to this formula. NSE is my extreme passion, and number one priority.

Artwork by Jon Zig

New Standard Elite has become one of my favorite labels, and I thought I’d share a couple of the reasons why with you dear reader:

When I first met Mr. Osborn through Facebook, the label did not have a Bandcamp page, because he loves physical media, and so does the majority of his customers. So I decided to talk about how Bandcamp works and some of its benefits. To my surprise he created a page and put up all the EPs and full lengths. You may ask why is that such a big deal? Well, he took in consideration something a fan had to say; let’s be honest, he could just have said no.

New Standard Elite is well respected in the brutal death community, for their honesty and for how they treat bands and fans around the globe. I have ordered from the label many times and always received my package in a timely matter, but Mr. Osborn knows how to address any issues so the customer ends up appreciating his due diligence.

And last but not least the music. New Standard Elite knows brutal death metal like no other - a lot of time is spent doing research; listening to different bands from all over the the world, taking active part in many extreme music discussing groups, talking to fans to to hear what they are listening to. Basically, I love every single release under the NSE banner, but here are small write ups of two of my favorite releases.

Laceration is a band from the United Kingdom formed in 2009 by Hamish Maguire when he was only 15; Severing the Divine Iniquity” is their debut album. One look at the cover and it captivated my attention right away. On a first listen my response was two words: Holy Fuck!. I was really impressed with the vocals, the riffs, and the musicianship of Mr. Maguire. I love the diversity in each songs; how each one of them stands out and keeps you headbanging from start to finish. Behind the manic riffing and overall brutality of the music you find lyrics that are very different from standard "brutal" lyrics - like these lines from "Enlightened Through Introspection":

"I cannot live in this state of great sadness
I used to be positive in all of my thinking

This world is shit and nothing can stop it
Society is weak but its pressure's tremendous"

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

The next band is from Adelaide, Australia and goes by the name of Seminal Embalmment, their EP called Stacked and Sodomized was released in January 2013. I bought it mainly because Mr. Osborn praised it highly, but after listening, it has become one of my favorites. The level of intensity in each of the songs is very high, thanks to the amazing drumming and stellar guitar work. The songs are structured intelligently with hints of technicality thrown in the mix. I’m really looking forward to their full length, which I believe will be out next year.